What's the longest you have kept a car?

[wack]

Had a XK8 for 4 years but it was a weekend toy , other than that 6 months to 2 years, I don't take after my father who managed to make 2 volvo estates last from 1978 to 2006

1st was a 76 on a P , second 84 on a B

He was proper pissed off when he saw the P reg one driving towards him 2 years after he sold it , I could have kept that

[Mr Tidy]

I got my BMW 123d in January 2008 and kept it for exactly 6 and a half years, but it was the newest (and most expensive) car I've ever had (or ever will)!

It was a pre-reg, 4 months old (but current plate!) and I did just over 81,000 miles with it.

But in the end I got bored with it, and discovered N/A Straight 6 petrol RWD loveliness! Saying that I can see the current ones staying quite a while, as nobody makes N/A Straight 6 petrol RWD loveliness any more!

I generally changed every couple of years prior to that.

[MitchT]

BMW E36 318iS coupé.

Purchased (2.5 months old) on 31 July 1999. Still got it.

[Rsdop]

Owned my Mk2 Escort for almost 10 years, never kept another car for longer than 2 years I think.
I should really sell it. I don't do many miles, maybe 4K a year total and have 3 cars which is stupid. It would make sense to sell them all and have 1 decent car but I can't bring myself to do it so it looks like it's a keeper!

[Coolbanana]

Isuzu KB200 LE 'bakkie' in South Africa. Bought new in 1997 and was stolen in 2012. So 15 years. When I came to the UK in 2000, I only used it on trips home every year but my Dad used it as a rubbish tip car. He had it re-sprayed every 2 years. Always looked good and never broke down.

[andyastrasri]

Saab 9000 Aero, 2 years, although it was a 3rd car at the time, other than that the longest I have kept a car is 6 months (one of my current cars; Astra J sri is just at that limit)

[jamies30]

Bought my Alfa Romeo RZ in January 1998, at the time I probably didn't expect that I'd still have it now. Used to be my daily driver, still try to use it a couple of times a week when the weather is good.

[RDB]

4 years was my longest - Saab 9000 Turbo. I normally keep cars for around 3 years.

My wife has owned her Fiat Seicento for 14 years.

[Roman Moroni]

I've had my '97 Impreza since 2001. Can't see it going anytime soon (unless I find a 993 for £5k!!)

[Fresh Air Ian]

I have had my Westfield 20 years now. Wife has had her Golf for 14 years as well.

[AlexRS2782]

Longest - Mk1 Focus RS - 10 years - Purchased Jan '06 - still have it now (albeit in storage).
2nd Longest - 205 GTI - 7 1/2 years - Purchased Oct '08 - still have it now in fairly regular use.

[ALTO77]

k-ink said:

To the people who keep it simple, with things like the Caterham, MX5 and Elise. I love that approach to life. Less is more. But how do you live with them so long and not get tired of the noise etc? I can only presume these are second or third cars which are only used on special occasions.

So I would suggest a different category for cars in daily use. Who has owned a daily for the longest?

This sounds like a great idea for a new topic, although I'm thoroughly enjoying this one, I can never settle on one car for long, always seem to get bored or start to pick faults, so it would be interesting to hear from people who only use one car, and how long they have loved/put up with them.

[EnglishTony]

Owned a Mk 2 Golf GTI 8valve. Bought for a grand with 80k on the clock, sold 5 years later with just over 200k for 800 quid.

My daily drivers have averaged about 2 to 3 years.

[RDMcG]

2003 SL 500, bought new, still have it:

[lord trumpton]

Streetrod said:

I bought my standard Beetle in 1978 as my first ever car, customised it over the next four years and still own it today, its never likely to be ever sold. This pic was taken cica 1986

Awesome pic - congrats

I notice the bouncy castle has a similar colour scheme - any influence?

[E24man]

I bought my 635CSi as my only car back in 1997 and still use it as a daily now.

[twizellb]

I had my Audi ur-quattro for 7years.

[ixiart]

I tend to keep cars and run them into the ground even if they're not that special or nice. The only exception being a Jaguar X-type I bought at Blackbushe car auctions 7 years ago and despite being less than 3 years old was a hideous unpleasant heap. I swore I'd never buy British again. I kept it less than a year and I was so pleased to be rid of it. Awful car.

My current vehicle is the longest I've owned any car and now the also the highest mileage one.135k. BMW 320i on a 56 plate. I've had it nearly 7 years. It's been a fantastic car and I was very lucky when I bought it because it was fully loaded with extras I didn't even realise were there. My biggest criticism of the car is the utterly impractical boot and seats which don't fold down. Other than that it's been ace.

Sadly it's got tired and I'm getting nervous of big bills (last MOT was the first it failed and it wasn't cheap).

Finances are tight now due to a house move so when I can finally bring myself to part with it I'll be probably be getting some boring hatchback shopping trolley. A Skoda Octavia 1.4TSi is currently top of the list.

Edited by ixiart on Saturday 2nd July 08:13

[vikingaero]

Zafira in Angry-Dad-Silver. 52 plate. Owned since new although it's mainly my mum that drives it to pick up the one or more of the 12 grandkids. It's done about 80k and in fantastic condition mainly because I wash vac and wax/seal it every fortnight. If it wasn't for the dated design it could easily pass for a brand new car.

[Craikeybaby]

k-ink said:

To the people who keep it simple, with things like the Caterham, MX5 and Elise. I love that approach to life. Less is more. But how do you live with them so long and not get tired of the noise etc? I can only presume these are second or third cars which are only used on special occasions.

So I would suggest a different category for cars in daily use. Who has owned a daily for the longest?

My mk1 MX-5 was my daily driver, at one point I was doing a 100 mile round trip commute in it. There were a few fun twisty sections on my commute and those bits more than made up for the noise on the motorway.